


Nessie

by Kidwhelmed



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Don't Judge Me, Eventual Romance, Fairytale based, I know Lance isn't scottish, I love me some Merida-esque Lance, Inspired by Brave and Beauty and the Beast, Kaltenecker is a mare, M/M, Shance games, Wrote this in 4 hours, but just go with it ok
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-02
Updated: 2019-03-02
Packaged: 2019-11-08 08:10:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,490
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17977580
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kidwhelmed/pseuds/Kidwhelmed
Summary: Lance is a prince who's desire to defy his planned future causes him to stumble upon fate: which has an even greater plan in store for him.





	Nessie

**Author's Note:**

  * For [pythagoreanpineapple](https://archiveofourown.org/users/pythagoreanpineapple/gifts).



> Hi! So, this was written very quickly in the span of like 4 hours for an event in a Shance discord server, where we create pieces every month based on prompts! For this one, we chose someone and created something and they had to guess who made it. This story was created for pythagoreanpinapple, who loves fairytale AUs <3

For all of his eighteen years of life living in the Highlands, Lance had never felt very royal. Perhaps it was due to the fact he had seven other siblings and he was the youngest. Or it could be due to his wild nature. His mum always said he was like the sea- playful, ever moving and shifting with the tide. That also meant his emotions were just as turbulent and merciless at times.

 

Which is why he currently found himself lost in the middle of the woods during a storm, soaked to the bone and holding tightly to the reigns of his mount.

 

“It’s okay, Kaltenecker,” he soothed as another rumble of thunder cracked through the air, causing the mare to jerk. “We’ll be alright. We’ll find our way back home, girl.”

 

Lance looked around for the millionth time, his pulse racing and eyes fervent as they tried to make out anything in the looming dark of night. He could barely make out the stars through the dense trees and what he knew to be angry grey clouds. He shouldn’t have run off so blindly, he knew. The echoes of his argument with his parents were still fresh on his mind, at war with his need to go back.

 

When his mother had brought up marriage, Lance had balked and made excuses. He hadn’t felt ready, and he enjoyed his freedom. He’d just begun archery that year, as well as training for his first highland games where his father had acquiesced to him competing with his older brothers. For years, Lance would find something whenever his mother (or reluctantly, his father) would bring up the topic. After a while, they stopped bringing it up and Lance thought he was in the clear. But then, a few hours ago his mother had brought it back up with a vengeance, now stating an _arranged marriage_.

 

Lance had visibly lost his composure, and so here he was- lost in the middle of nowhere.

 

_-Sssssshhhk_

 

The hissing pop brought Lance out of his thoughts and back to the present. With dread, he turned towards the sound and was startled to come face-to-face with a floating orb of glowing blue just inches from his nose. Blinking several times, he realized he wasn’t just imagining it as the orb pulsed faintly, followed by the echoing tinkle of what sounded suspiciously like a tinny laugh reached his ears.

 

“Hello…?” he reached out, only for the orb to disappear and reappear a foot away, the tinkling noise returning as the light swayed momentarily, beckoning him. Should he…? The boom of thunder in the distance reminded him of his current circumstances. He had nothing to lose.

 

Taking a deep breath, Lance tightened his grip on Kaltenecker and stepped forward.

 

\---

 

Lance followed the trail of _will-o'-wisp_ for what seemed like hours. The downpour shifted into a mild drizzle, but the biting cold wind didn’t lessen as he trekked through the mud. His only solace in this seemingly never-ending hike was the feel of Kaltenecker’s warm huffs of breath at his neck as they went. Suddenly, the wisps stop and collectively shudder. There’s a shift in the air, almost like a sigh, before they fade away.

 

Unprepared for this, Lance cries out a hurried “Wait!”, but they’re gone by the time he reaches out for them. While the wisps fade, he can just barely make out the span of a large lake surrounded by pale sand and dark, shiny stones. Chancing a glance up, the prince can see patches of stars peeking out from behind the dark clouds, slowly illuminating the calm waters and mirroring the sky back at itself. When Lance looked back down, another light- soft but clear- floated from the shore several feet away.

 

A soft bump from Kaltenecker’s muzzle snapped Lance out of it long enough for him to pat her nose reassuringly. “Ma always said I’d get myself in trouble with the spirits,” he smiled as he led her along the shore towards the light. “But she never said if it would be good or bad.”

 

When Lance reached the source of light, what he met with could not be described even in his wildest dreams. There, half-beached and half submerged in the dark water, was a creature he’d never encountered before. It was very large, much larger than any bear Lance had ever encountered on a hunt. The creature had grey skin rougher looking than the seals near the ocean he’d once visited as a child, covered in pale moon-white scars. Its head was the length of one of his thighs and twice as wide, with a neck as long as Lance was tall. Currently it rested fully on the sand, with massive shoulders still submerged in the water. It lay curled oddly, as if it had struggled to make its way onto the shore and given up half way. The wisp currently hovering above it cast the creature in a soft pink light.

 

“Holy _mother_ ,” Lance breathed as he absently tied his mare as quickly as he could to a nearby tree and warily approached the beast. Something in him called out to the creature, and he quickly realized what as he came closer- the beast was missing a front limb, if the odd stump was anything to go by, as well as the darker stained sand close to it. In the near silence, he could make out the quick, chuffed breaths from the creature’s mouth.

 

The crunch of sand alerted the large beast to Lance’s approach and large, pale eyes the color of a rainy sky opened quickly from above a thick, angry-looking scar on its snout. Shifting, the animal gave out a low, warning bellow that made Lance stop. The prince held out his hands calmly and spoke in a low tone. “Please,” he begged softly, “I just want to help.”

 

Grey eyes met blue, and they stared at each other for a long moment; the silence thick as the beast took in Lance with intelligent, assessing eyes. Finally, its gaze seemed to dim with exhaustion and pain and with a deep huff that seemed almost defeated, it lowered its head back to the sand and watched him closely from drooping lids as it relaxed. Lance took that as permission enough and slowly shifted closer until he could see the injury. While he didn’t know what had caused it, the sluggish bleeding told him it still needed tending even if it looked clean enough despite the sand dusting the limb. Unthinkingly, Lance ripped off the piece of his family tartan that lay across his chest and set to work wrapping the wound all while under the watchful gaze of thoughtful grey eyes.

 

\---

 

For five days and six nights, Lance remained at the edge of the Loch Ness, a campfire neatly set along the shore and Kaltenecker secured to a tree whenever Lance wasn’t off picking berries or tending to who he had named ‘Nessie’. While he didn’t know the gender of the creature, it had seemed amused and eventually humored the name.

 

The large creature was definitely highly intelligent, and always welcomed the sight of Lance with its kind grey eyes and a soft bellow in greeting. There was always a fish or two on the shore beside it- an offering for Lance. Lance was always quick to respond with a grin of his own and a gentle pat on the creature’s snout before tending to its leg and chattering at it for hours about his home, his hobbies and his dreams. Nessie would always listen attentively, its eyes fond.

 

It wasn’t until the next sunrise that Lance woke and Nessie was gone.

 

His heart aching, Lance stared out at the waters that had become his sanctuary as the sun slowly set. He thought about his family, and how they were probably worried sick about him. He wondered if Nessie had left because they had someone to return to as well. He wished he’d gotten to at least say goodbye.

 

Turning with shoulders drooped in disappointment, Lance took a step towards the treeline and balked as his gaze met with a pair of boots standing a few feet away. He followed them up fur-lined trousers and a tall, muscular build.

 

Lance’s breath hitched when their eyes met.

 

Familiar grey eyes the color of the sky, as old and as calm as the waters of the Loch; stared back at him unflinching from beneath a fringe of snow-white hair. The man’s lips turned up in amusement above a square jaw and broad shoulders shifted beneath a thick, well-worn cloak. The movement caught Lance’s attention enough to notice a familiar stained tartan peeking out from a mostly empty tunic sleeve, and above it; a Viking crest pinned to the cloak. Darting his gaze back up, the prince stared in disbelief as a large, well-worn hand was held out to him.

 

“You’re…”

 

 

“Hello, Lance.”

 

 


End file.
